Facing Your Darkest Hour
by GreaterZ
Summary: new project. Sasuke returns to Konoha for an unknown reason. R&R tell if i should keep it going, rated M for later. chapter 3 up really violent. sorry it took so long. slightly mature language and topics
1. Prelude

_Italics: thought_

Quotations( "…"): speech

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form

"Facing Your Darkest Hour"

_"Sasuke, you have to be careful from this point on," the masked man warned. "Our next move is crucial. You and I are the only ones left. If you want to accomplish your mission, then you're gonna have to come up with a plan." _

Sasuke's mind raced as he looked out over Konoha, the village he once called home. He stood atop the Hokage Mountain, glaring out at the village that had been the source of all the pain in his life. Memories of the day his life was changed forever flashed vividly in his mind, all the sorrow he'd been holding back for the past decade threatening to come to the surface. Even the heavens felt his pain as the sky darkened and they shed tears of their own. A single crack of thunder rumbled in the distance, and instantly Sasuke's sorrow was replaced with anger. Not anger toward his elder brother for killing their family, but anger toward this village before him for putting his brother Itachi up to the task in the first place.

"Don't worry about it, Madara," Sasuke whispered to himself, "I do have a plan." With that, Sasuke began to make his way to the village entrance. _This will take a good bit of acting. I can't just launch an offensive on the village, I need them to think that I'm still an ally for just a little bit longer. _

Naruto couldn't believe it, Sasuke had finally come back after all these years. When he had first arrived, Naruto couldn't have been happier. His best friend had finally come back after he killed Itachi, but the feeling didn't last long. Sasuke had changed, and apparently Naruto was the only one who had noticed it.

No one in the village aside from Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were all that happy that he had returned. He remained a traitor in the eyes of many often had to face public attacks on his honor. Sasuke was able to stop himself from reacting negatively to any of these insults, in fact he had taken all of them surprisingly well. Sasuke had become a much calmer person in his time away.

However, what really got to Naruto was the fact that Sakura had right back to Sasuke since he had come back. He acted the same way that he always had around her even when they started dating; Naruto had never even seen then kiss. Sakura was almost always glowing when she was with him though, well except when Naruto was around. For some reason, and Naruto didn't have the slightest 

idea why, when ever Naruto was around she would suddenly become rather gloomy. She would always look away from him when the three of them would spend time together.

"I just don't get it, why would he have waited so long after he killed Itachi to come back?" Naruto wondered to himself as he walked toward the outskirts of the village. "I mean two years is a long time, what the hell could he have been doing while he was waiting to come back here."

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He had spent the better part of this day looking for Sasuke. He needed to know why he had taken so long to come back, he wanted to know where the hell Sasuke had been during all that time. His search continued, he had checked the entire village from top to bottom and decided that they had to be somewhere outside of it. Naruto figured that he would have some luck finding him out in the forest, it was a place that Sasuke often went when he wanted to be alone. This time though, as Naruto closed in on the clearing he had often found Sasuke in he noted that he could hear voices. Naruto slowed down a short distance from the clearing, close enough to overhear the conversation, as well as see Sasuke and Sakura together.

"So Sasuke, why did you call me out here?" Sakura asked with a nervous look on her face as she brushed her bangs off of her faced. "This isn't like you to call me out into the middle of nowhere just to talk, and we've been here for almost a half hour, what are you waiting for?"

Sasuke took a quick glance over his shoulder and Naruto was almost positive that he had been spotted when Sasuke turned back to Sakura with a smirk on his face. "Nothing, I've just waiting for the right time to say this," Sasuke said clearly as he began to walk toward Sakura backing her into a tree. "I think it's time," he cooed after he put a hand on the tree behind Sakura, "that we bring our relationship to the next level."

Sakura began to blush furiously and Naruto's shock was almost palpable. Though he had not been noticed he surely would be if he stayed there, so he ran. He ran hard, he ran fast, and he didn't stop running even after he had made it back to the village. He ran straight into the park where he collapsed onto the ground, shaking. _Come now boy, did you really think that they were never going to move past the stage of hand holding and butterfly kisses. _The Kyuubi had awakened just as he usually did when Naruto was stressed.

Naruto closed his eyes and was soon face to face with the huge demon that dwelled within him. "Shut up! You don't even know what you're talking about," Naruto shouted furiously.

"You know, if you really don't want them to be together I could always just kill that Uchiha boy," the Kyuubi stated sadistically. "Don't even bother trying to hide it from me, I am your anger, I know what you really want. Just let me out, let me kill him and everyone else who's hurt you. I promise that I will make them pay."

"No! I refuse to let you out, I don't need you to take care my problems for me anymore, I'll handle this myself just like all my other problems." Naruto shouted, shaking in frustration and anger.

"Fine, I'll stay in here for now, but when you're at your weakest, I'll be waiting to come back. And I swear that when I do I'll destroy you and everything that you hold dear." The Kyuubi stated with his voice almost dripping with malice.

"As if I'd ever be so weak as to let you take escape." Naruto retorted in a poisonous tone.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that Sasuke," Sakura said blushing uncontrollably and looking toward the ground. "Maybe we should wait a while."

Sasuke snickered. "Forget it, this entire trip has already served its purpose." He said looking back in the direction that Naruto had run from. "For that matter so have you."

Before Sakura had even known what had happened she was staring into a Sharingan. Everything when black as Sakura fell limp to the ground. _Perfect, I could him loosing himself to the Kyuubi when he ran way and for a short while after that the Kyuubi was getting even stronger. He only needs one more push and I can certainly manage that. _"Thanks a lot Sakura, you actually did end up serving a purpose for me in the end after all." Sasuke sneered as he left the unconscious Sakura in the clearing. "Just one more push and the Kyuubi will be mine. At long last, I can avenge my clan. For Konoha, this is the beginning of the end."


	2. Beginning of The End

Italics: thought

_Italics: thought_

Quotations( "…"): speech

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form

Naruto's anger with the Kyuubi was on the rise. Each time the monster spoke his anger grew. After all these years the Kyuubi had learned better than anyone else how to push his buttons. The very thought of Naruto's Sakura-chan sharing a bed with Sasuke was driving him insane. Regardless of how she felt for him Naruto had never given up on her; he had always hoped that somehow some way they would be together.

"C'mon boy, I thought you wanted the Uchiha back? I thought you were expecting something like this." The Kyuubi said mockingly from his cage. "I really thought that you would have taken losing the one you love most in this world better than this. How disappointing." He said with a chuckle.

"SHUT UP, YOU DON"T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!!" Naruto screamed furiously at the beast in his head. "STOP TALKING LIKE YOU KNOW ME!!"

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Oh, but I do know you. I know everything about you, and I know exactly what you want, you want him to die. Stop denying it." The Kyuubi's sadistic laughter tore at Naruto's mind. He could actually feel himself slipping into insanity at the constant hecklings of the demon.

"Naruto? Naruto! Naruto, what the hell's the matter?" Naruto heard echoing in his head. He blinked back into the outside world to see that his shoulder was being shaken by a dark haired man. "Naruto, why the hell are standing out here screaming at yourself?" the man asked.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked slightly distracted, the Kyuubi's words, as well as Sasuke's kept racing through his head. _Don't let him interrupt me. We weren't done talking about that boy stealing your woman's virginity. _The Kyuubi joked in his head. "Shut up! I'm done talking to you!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey, what the hell did I do, I was just making sure you were ok." Shikamaru retorted rather angrily. "I was worried about you, why are you standing in the middle of the park shouting at yourself?"

"What? Oh, Shikamaru right, I wasn't talking to you," Naruto said slightly embarrassed, "sorry." _Hey, I'm talking to you, keep your head in the game, you still need to figure out what you're going to do about the man that took your woman. Or do you just plan on letting him get away with it? _The Kyuubi continued to egg on in his mind.

"Will you shut up?! You're driving me crazy!" Naruto again shouted aloud. "Will you just shut up for five minutes and let me handle this." Naruto slowly began to turn away from a confused Shikamaru holding his head trying to think. He slowly made his way back to the village's main square. _You know, this whole problem could be solved if you just let me out. I could bring him to his knees. I could leave Sakura with no one but you. It would be just the two of you living happily ever after. Doesn't that sound like something you want? _The Kyuubi cooed in a false caring tone in his mind.

Before Naruto was able to respond to the latest taunt from the Kyuubi, he was approached by four of his friends from the village: Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, Choji Akamichi, and Ino Yamanaka. "Naruto, are you okay?" Hinata asked caringly, "You look ill."

"What? Yeah, I'm fine?" Naruto said almost angrily as he tried to make his way past them. All he wanted was to go home and forget everything that he had seen and heard that day. He just wanted to fall asleep and forget that this day had ever happened. Unfortunately it seemed that his this day was far from over. Sasuke, the man of the hour in Naruto's mind, was walking quite proudly toward him. Naruto tried to turn away and get out of there before he was drug into a conversation. However, "Hey Naruto, where have you been all day?" came floating out of the Uchiha's mouth the instant that he noticed him.

_Here's your chance! Let me out now! I'll rip him limb from limb. You could be bathing in his blood in a matter of seconds just release the seal! _The Kyuubi whispered excitedly in his head. "I've been around how about you I was looking for you all day?" Naruto stated poisonously to Sasuke. Naruto could hardly stand to look Sasuke in the face. He had been arguing with the Kyuubi in the park for at least an hour and if Sasuke was here, than odds are that he Sakura had already…

"I've been busy fucking Sakura's brains out." Sasuke said quite proud of himself.

"I tell you Naruto I should have done that a long time ago, she's a real freak in bed. Come to think of it, you had a crush on her didn't you? Man, dobe, you should have got at that while you had the chance," he said sarcastically looking at Naruto's broken furious expression.

"Don't…ever talk… about Sakura-chan like that!" Naruto said in a deadly tone. He was literally shaking in anger. Sasuke was walking around like a hero speaking of Sakura like she was some piece of meat. "If you say…one more word…I'll kill you." _That's right let the hate lead you from here. Let me have him. Let me have them all _the Kyuubi grinned pouring more fuel on the fire. His chakra had already begun to leak out. _You know you can't hold back forever._

"Oh isn't that cute, you're jealous. Well don't worry, you can have her." Sasuke sneered in a cool tone. "After we had sex I broke up with her. I got what I wanted I didn't have any reason to stay with her after that. That's why she's not with me, she's probably at home crying over the loss of her wonderful Sasuke-kun." He stated cruelly, going so far as to imitate Sakura's voice on the "Sasuke-kun". Even Ino and the others could hear him, then again it's not like he was keeping what he had done a secret. Nearly everyone in the square was disgusted with him. And Naruto…

Naruto stood there shaking, his eyes in blood red slits and near-toxic chakra slowly seeping from every pore in his body. _C'mon. I'll do it for you, just remove the seal._ Naruto retreated into the recesses of his mind and stood before the Kyuubi's cage.

"Sasuke, I don't care what happens to anyone or anything from this point on. I will never forgive you." Naruto quietly rumbled. "It's over. I hope everyone's watching, because this is where it all ends. The Naruto Uzumaki that you and everyone else knew dies today."

Standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage, Naruto raised his hand to the seal. "End it all." Were the last words that escaped his lips as he tore away the Kyuubi's seal.


	3. Dead

Italics: thought

_Italics: thought_

Quotations( "…"): speech

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form

**WARNING: **_**EXTREMELY **_**GRAPHIC VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER**

_Sakura stood under a large tree in the park. She had been waiting for so long she had almost forgotten what she was waiting for. She knew that she was waiting for someone, but whom? Her thoughts continued to race as the people walked by going about their business. She stayed to herself, trying to focus on her thoughts, when one of the people walking by suddenly stopped and addressed her._

_"Um, excuse me miss, what's your name?" the blonde haired man asked. His eyes were ocean blue and he had strange little markings on his face. "You shouldn't stay here. If you do he's sure to come for you."_

_"My name's Sakura, and I know that he'll come. I'm waiting for him. He left me here to wait for him." She said in a somewhat distant voice. "I'm in love with him."_

_"Are you sure of that? I've known him for a while and from what I can tell the only thing on his mind is revenge. He left you here because he thought that you would just be a burden." The blonde man said with a soft expression lined with pain._

_"Who do you think you are telling me that I'm just a burden?" Sakura said getting quite irritated by the man standing before her. "How could you possibly know anything about this."_

_"Simple, Sakura-chan, I love you." The man said with the purest smile she had ever seen. "I'll bring him here if you like. I just want you to be happy."_

_Sakura blushed furiously and looked away. Something about this man made her feel indescribable. She felt nervous, yet completely safe when she looked him in the face. He began to turn and walk away._

_"You know…" the man said as he stopped and turned back to her, "if you don't leave now you'll probably never see me again."_

_"Why wouldn't I ever see you again?" she said with a worried expression, "you're one of my precious people. I want to see you again."_

_"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, the Naruto Uzumaki that everyone knows is about to die," he said with s woeful expression, "Sasuke will be the death of me, but as long as your happy…so am I."_

_Naruto burst into flames right before Sakura's eyes. His painful screams tore at her mind as his body began break and twist into some horrible abomination against god. The flames grew with Sakura's horror until Naruto was gone and nothing stood before her but Sasuke Uchiha covered in blood. Behind him she could see two huge red eyes. The last thing she heard before it all went black was a deep and terrifying laugh, as well as a single statement from Sasuke._

"_There will be blood."_

Sakura woke with a start, a cold sweat dripping from her brow. Her heart was racing and her head was pounding. That dream had seemed so real, Sasuke covered in blood, the monster behind him, and especially the death of Naruto.

"What happened?" she mumbled struggling to remember how she had gotten into the clearing that she found herself in. There was no one around and the sun had begun to sink low in the sky. Something was wrong, she just couldn't place what it was. _I don't know why, but…I'm really scared. _

The instant that that thought crossed her mind one person came to mind. The only person that no matter how scared she was would always be there to make her feel safe. Naruto clouded her thoughts in ways that she never would have expected. In the pit of her stomach she couldn't help but feel that he needed her, now more than ever.

She quickly got up and looked toward the village, there were ominous clouds hovering in that direction and a mysterious red glow. Something was definitely wrong and she knew that it had something to do with Naruto and Sasuke. She ran as fast as she could back toward the village

The seal fell to the floor of Naruto's mind. The caged door cracked open and there was nothing but silence. Naruto looked up and saw nothing, he slowly opened the door in his mind.

In an instant an incredible force crashed into him practically tearing him apart. The heat and pressure were so intense Naruto felt as if he was melting into nothing. He could hear the beast laughing. It was laughing hysterically, the sound of it alone made his blood run cold.

Sasuke stood atop the Hokage mountain once again, looking out over the village. He stared out in the direction that he had left Naruto. From here he could see the entire village, but he was much more focused on the sky. It had begun to grow dark and an eerie red glow surrounded the village almost like a fog. Sasuke knew exactly what was coming and he couldn't be happier. His vengeance was just moments away, no one in this village was powerful enough to stop the Kyuubi except for him and anyone that the Kyuubi left behind would be his targets. He would see to it that absolutely no one survived this battle. Only then could they know his pain.

Everyone left in the square was hundled around Naruto. No one was entirely sure what had happened to him. After his cryptic remark to Sasuke he simply fell to his knees in a daze. His eyes though ocean blue once more had lost any hint of consciousness. He simply sat there on his knees; to anyone walking by he would look like an empty shell.

Sasuke was nowhere to be found. The instant that Naruto had dropped he had turned tail and run. Although most people had gotten the message that something serious was about to happen and ran as well, those who knew Naruto were much more concerned with him then their safety. The only ones who did actually stay were Choji, Kiba, Ino, and Hinata.

Hinata kneeled before Naruto and put her hand on his cheek. Naruto did not react in the slightest, even to Hinata, Naruto looked like the soulless husk of his former self.

"Naruto…are you okay?" she said in a quiet yet concerned voice.

Without the faintest hint of a warning Naruto's eyes regained their gleam and he let out an earsplitting scream. His whole body tensed as the others quickly backed away. The scream wouldn't stop as blood began to pour from every orifice on his body. His eyes rolled back in his head as he began to cry tears of blood. His body began to smoke red as if the blood was evaporating.

A fierce wind erupted from his body as the ground began to crack and splinter beneath him. He began to glow scarlet. Naruto fell to all fours as he continued to scream in agony, the red light growing ever brighter. Hinata ran toward him with a pure intention to help. Though Kiba and the others tried to stop her they were too late as this proved to be the last thing Hinata would ever do.

As she ran toward Naruto, a single crimson tail had materialized in the light. In a flash that same tail impaled her chest. As her blood dyed the ground red beneath her, the tail slowly lifted her into the air. She was still alive, but just barely; something that the Kyuubi would not allow.

To the others horror, five more tails appeared from the light as Naruto lay convulsing hideously on the ground continuing his cries of agony. Each of the tails grabbed a limb and right before their eyes, Hinata was completely ripped apart.

The others, to shocked at Hinata's horrific death to do anything could only stare as the blood red aura continued to drift upward from Naruto's body. The six tails were quickly joined by three more and it became painfully clear what was happening, at long last the all consuming red aura that surrounded Naruto detached from him and began to rise into the air. As the aura grew it began to spin in a violent twister of evil power. Before long that nine tailed twister was easily twice the size of the Hokage building.

Naruto lay gasping for breath as he lay drenched in his own blood. The pain of that extraction had taken its toll; he could hardly breathe, let alone move. Kiba, who had fallen to his knees after Hinata's gruesome death, stared in awe at the horrible display before him. Naruto half dead in a pool of his own blood, Hinata in pieces a short distance from him, and the greatest horror in the history of the village being reborn right before his eyes.

Ino and Choji had run almost immediately after Hinata's death, to afraid to face this demon alone. In one huge flash of red light it happened, the Kyuubi was restored.

For a moment the Kyuubi only stood there looking at Naruto. After a few seconds reality set in and the entire village was filled with his horrible laugh.

**"I'm finally free!"** the Kyuubi shouted gleefully as he took in the air around him. **"How many years now have I been dreaming of this day? How many times have I wanted to get out of that moron? How many people have I seen that I wanted to kill but couldn't?"** he continued, **"Well that doesn't matter now. I only wish that boy could hear me. I can hardly believe he really expected me to get his vengeance for him!" **the Kyuubi shouted before laughing hideously again.

Kiba still sat there frozen by fear, sweat running down his face. Though every fiber of his body wanted to run, no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't seem to stand. The Kyuubi was back, if some one didn't do something, this would be it, this would be the end of all of them.

The Kyuubi looked down and noticed the tiny frightened shinobi. It had been awhile since the Kyuubi had had any fun. Why not enjoy this for awhile.

"**Oh ho, and who have we here,"** the Kyuubi said in a mock caring voice as he crouched down to get a better look at Kiba. **"Why if it isn't that young boy from the Inuzuka clan. You shouldn't be out here by yourself, you never know what kind of monster could be lurking in the shadows." **The Kyuubi grinned maliciously as he felt the young ninja's blood run cold.

Kiba only sat there, what else could he do? He alone was faced with the ultimate evil. Something so wicked its very presence was about to push him into insanity. How could Naruto have stood having this horror _inside_ of him this entire time.

Kiba continued to stare into the blood red eyes of his own demise. The thought of him surviving this encounter had left him the instant that the Kyuubi had noticed him. He could only pray for help from someone, anyone.

Naruto's whole body felt like it was on fire. He struggled with all his might to make the slightest movements, unfortunately for him it hurt to try and open his eyes, let alone move. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he couldn't make out much of anything. His vision was incredibly blurry and could hardly even make out colors. All he could see was a large red blur against what looked like a darkened sky.

As his senses began to return to him, Naruto noticed a hand on his. He fought the pain in his body to sit up and find out who the hand belonged to. However when he finally managed to see he realized it was just that, a hand. He gasped as he saw the torn pieces of what must have at one time been a person though it was mutilated beyond recognition.

In an instant his entire body was crushed beneath something huge. His head had smacked into the ground hard enough to black out his vision for a moment. And when it came back he found himself staring into the face of a demon he knew all to well.

**"Awake already I see. I must say I'm a little surprised that you woke up so quickly," **the Kyuubi said delightedly. He glanced back at the shocked Kiba who continued to look on, to stunned to even speak. **"Congratulations boy, you get momentary reprieve, I have someone else that I'd much rather take my time with," **the Kyuubi gleefully hissed as he looked back to his one time owner.

Naruto remembered all that had happened up to this point and didn't bother fighting. "I don't care, do what ever you want," he stated blankly as he looked back at the mutilated pile of flesh, "as long as that's Sasuke, I don't care what you do anymore."

At this the beast could only laugh. **"Sasuke, oh no, that's not Sasuke. After all you put me through did you really think that I would do anything for you after you let me out. In fact, I'm going to make it a point to keep him alive longer than anyone else in this damned village."**

Naruto's emotions came rushing back to him all at once. "Hey! That wasn't the deal you bastard, the only reason I let you out was to kill him! If you haven't killed him than who the hell is that!?" Naruto shouted in a rage.

The kyuubi chuckled as he looked down at Naruto with nothing short of pure hatred glinting in his eyes. **"That would be your little Hyuuga friend. Can you believe she actually tried to help you? I guess there was actually someone in this village that cared for you after all,"** the Kyuubi snorted. If there was anything that he liked to do, it was to mind rape Naruto, why not do it one more time for old times sake.

"You son of a bitch! You killed Hinata!? How could you, that wasn't part of the plan!" Naruto shouted furiously. "You were only supposed to get Sasuke!"

**"That's where you're wrong, boy," **the Kyuubi said in a poisonous tone. **"For starters, what makes you think that you can control me now that I'm free? And even more so, I am fulfilling part of my agreement with you. I said that I would kill them all, everyone that had ever hurt you. And that's what I'm doing, killing them all, starting with you're so called friends."** The Kyuubi was excellent at pulling Naruto's heart strings. This time he was going to make Naruto prey for death, he was going to destroy everything that Naruto had ever known before he killed him.

**"Come now boy, do you really think that anyone in this whole god forsaken village ever cared for you. Look at all of them and what they've done. They've all treated you like you were me, they treated you like scum. They blamed you for the deaths that I caused and beat you for trying to live a normal life. No, they wouldn't let you have that, they never liked you, none of them did. You've always been a monster in their eyes. None of them will miss you when you're gone, not even you're precious Sakura-chan. I mean how could she care for a monster like you anyway. Even after all that you did for her she went running back to Sasuke. She never cared about you and never will. You have nothing because you are nothing,"** the Kyuubi chuckled maliciously, **"Now just die. Quit being a burden on them. They never liked you anyway. You're dead and to them you always have been."**

Naruto wasn't looking at the Kyuubi, he was too busy crying. Naruto had taken everything that the Kyuubi had said to heart. He felt like nothing more than a piece trash that no one had taken the time to throw away. Kiba still looked on, to afraid to speak against the Kyuubi for fear of his own life. Kiba hadn't considered Naruto a burden, or worthless. Sure he wouldn't hesitate to call him stupid, but he didn't feel that he was worthless in any way.

Silence filled the air between the three as Naruto's crying stopped. The Kyuubi and Kiba both continued to fix their gaze on Naruto who wasn't looking at either of them.

After a few moments they heard something, it started out quiet, almost inaudible, but it quickly became louder. It was laughter, full blown laughter. Even the kyuubi was put off by this, what the hell had he said that was so damn funny.

Naruto turned his gaze toward the kyuubi. The look on his face was something to behold. The Kyuubi was one of the greatest and most powerful monsters the world had ever known, and even he was frightened by the look on Naruto's face. Naruto's face was a mixture of unspeakable hatred and pure joy. To put it simply, Naruto looked as if he had completely lost his mind and was on the verge of a killing spree.

Naruto's eyes suddenly burned blood red just like the Kyuubi's and the Kyuubi could feel his power being siphoned out of his had and into Naruto's body. Before he even lifted his hand and huge blast of his own chakra blasted it away from Naruto. Naruto stood up stared right into the eyes of the Kyuubi.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm garbage, just a burden on everyone I know. Everyone hates me. Maybe it's all true…but," Naruto said in a tone so packed with malice that even the Kyuubi felt a shiver run down his spine, "if that is the case. It's all your fault isn't it. So instead of just dying or letting you or Sasuke play with my head, how about I just kill you both myself?"


	4. Watching Him Disappear

Italics: thought

_Italics: thought_

Quotations( "…"): speech

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form

The instant she stepped foot in the village, Sakura knew that something was horribly wrong. There was a distinct feeling of dread in the air. The clouds in the sky were black as night with an ominous red glow, and somewhere deeper into the village she could see a monstrous figure. The buildings blocking her field of vision hid the general structure of the beast, but the nine enormous tails flailing above it told her exactly what it was.

Suddenly all she could think of was Naruto. As tears began to stream down her face and horrible sadness filled her heart, she began to run for the monster as quickly as she could. She only hoped that she could get there in time to save him. Yet, in the back of her mind she didn't really know what she could do when she did arrive. All of the things that she did for him were always so small.

Naruto's evil grin was almost enough to send chills down the Kyuubi's spine. "So what do you say, Fox?" Naruto snickered, "you wanna see just how far you've pushed me?" Kiba looked at Naruto in awe, it wasn't so much the fact that he was challenging the Kyuubi, it was more just how evil he looked while doing it. Kiba almost wasn't sure which one he was more afraid of, Naruto's facial expression was nothing short of what a demon would wear.

"N-Naruto… have you lost your mind?" Kiba stuttered out, "that thing will kill you, don't you get it, we need to get help. Or have you already forgotten what it did to Hinata?" Naruto's malicious gaze drifted from the Kyuubi to the frightened shinobi to his left. The instant that their eyes met, Kiba regret opening his mouth as his blood ran cold. Naruto's blood red gaze lingered on him unwaveringly for a short time before he spoke. "I haven't forgotten Kiba, but if you say another word to interrupt me, those will be _your_ body parts scattered on the ground." Naruto stated in a voice oozing with hatred.

"**I see**," the Kyuubi said as he regained his composure, "**since our chakras have been intermingled for so long, your body has learned to subconsciously draw power from me. Oh well, your body has never been able to control anything more than four tails, that's not nearly enough of **_**my**_** power to defeat me.**" The Kyuubi chuckled. "**I'll give it to you that you may be able to pull enough out of me to kill the Uchiha, but me? You must be joking.**"

Naruto's eyes again shifted to the monster before him as an insidious smile infected his face. "You're wrong," he stated coolly, "I finally realize why Sasuke left the village in the first place. He wanted power, the power that you get from hatred," Naruto snickered, "and only now do I understand just how great that power is. Hatred allows you to fight without concern for yourself as long as your objective is achieved. That means that I will succeed in killing Sasuke and you, and then I too will die.

"**What?! You really think that I'll be killed by a worthless piece of garbage like you?!**" the Kyuubi laughed, "**Even your precious Fourth failed to kill me and you really think that you can succeed where he failed? You're so pathetic that you have to siphon power from me to solve all your problems, and you really think that you can beat me with that? I can see why everyone that you know thinks you're an idiot. Even your precious Sakura-chan has forsaken you, you really think that you'll be able to get away with this, even if you do manage to kill me? If by some miracle you actually did manage to destroy me it won't make a difference. You will simply become more monstrous than the demon you destroyed by relying on my power, you'll be shunned and hunted. Do you really want to become a pariah?**

The Kyuubi glared down and Naruto confident that his words had swayed him to give up and submit to death. However, his confidence was soon shattered when a low, throaty chuckle began to seep out of Naruto's mouth and into the Kyuubi's ears.

"I never said that I would get away with it," Naruto snickered darkly, "Don't worry, after you and Sasuke are dead, I'll be sure follow the both of you to hell. Maybe I'll get lucky enough to get to kill you both again when we get there, and then spend the rest of eternity reveling in your blood."

"Naruto!" Naruto's eyes suddenly opened wide as the Kyuubi quickly glance up and looked at the figure that had entered the square. Sakura stood a short distance from them with a pained expression her face. Without a second thought she began to run toward Naruto. "Wait Sakura, don't go near him!" Kiba suddenly shouted, fearing what Naruto might do to her in this state. Kiba was instantly greeted by hand clenched firmly around his throat. "What did I say about interrupting me, Kiba?" Naruto stated sadistically as he lifted Kiba of the ground by his neck. Sakura's eye's opened wide with fear as she saw Naruto choking the life out of their friend.

Kiba's eyes rolled back in his head and a blood vessel popped in his eye before Sakura shouted, "Naruto, what are you doing?! Put him down!" Naruto instantly dropped Kiba, who put a hand to his throat as he gasped desperately for the air that Naruto had denied him. Naruto's hand fell back to his side as he looked back to Sakura with a sinister smile plastered across his face. As Sakura looked back into the blood red pits of malice that were Naruto's eyes, the images that she had seen while unconscious came flashing through her head again. She fell to her knees with tears streaming down her face, but refusing to look away from the monster that looked nothing like the man she held so highly.

"Naruto… what happened to you?" she whispered painfully. What had happened to the fun-loving, goofy, moron that she considered her best friend? Where was his reassuring smile, and his ocean blue eyes? What could have possibly turned the purest kindness she had ever known into a seething pool of loathing and resentment? A sinister, rumbling laughter suddenly rang in her ears as she looked up to the demon fox of legend that had been residing in Naruto.

"**Would you like me to answer that question?**" the Kyuubi asked in a mock caring voice, "**It's really very simple… you did this to him. And as a little favor to him I've decided to send you to hell.**" The Kyuubi lifted his arm, balled his fist and brought it crashing down toward Sakura. She closed her eyes and looked away, expecting to be crushed almost instantly, but a blow never came. As she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw Naruto standing with his back to her holding the Kyuubi's colossal fist above her with his own hand.

"I have my own plans for her, fox," Naruto spat as he threw the Kyuubi's hand back. "**Oh, are you sure? I just figured you'd like to have a playmate with you in hell, since you won't be "reveling in my blood" as you put it, you're going to need some way to pass the time.**" the Kyuubi snickered smugly.

"Naruto… please tell me what happened." Sakura pleaded in a mournful voice, "How can I help you get back to the way you were? Please, tell me how, I'll do anything to get you back to the way you used to be."

"The Naruto Uzumaki that you knew is gone," he stated poisonously, "I'm just his ghost, and I can't help you the way that he always would. You see, without you, he just… disappeared. Now I just want you to watch as the last little bit of him drifts away. I can't go on… without you."

Sakura's eyes opened wide at his last comment as an unfathomable sorrow crossed his face. The Kyuubi's face formed a sinister grin as he looked down on Naruto's pained expression. _**Too bad,**_ the Kyuubi thought, _**if only he knew that she really does love him. Then again, his thinking that she doesn't has worked to my advantage so well I might as well not go and jinx myself. **_The Kyuubi raised his hand for another strike at the two before their conversation could carry on. Both his hand and Sakura were almost immediately blown away by an explosion of crimson chakra erupting from Naruto's body.

"Now!" Naruto shouted as he looked back over his shoulder at a shocked Sakura. His vicious gaze refocused on the Kyuubi, who was startled by the outburst, "Sakura, I want you to see just how far down I've sunk!" He erupted with malice. As Naruto began to focus the chakra that he was taking in, he raised his arms. Each of his palms began to screech as a black and red cyclone of chakra began to take shape in his hands. As Naruto lowered his hands, having formed a Rasenshuriken in each, he was reminded of his fight with Sasuke at the Valley of the End. The Chidori that he had made in their final clash was black, just as his Rasenshurikens were now. _I see, when made with hatred and intent to kill, the chakra becomes tainted and turns black._

As Naruto returned his attention to the task at hand, he quickly began to press the two orbs of chakra together to form one massive attack. A stunned Sakura quickly panicked, "Naruto, stop! Just one of those is enough to shatter your arm, the blast and recoil from two of them could kill you!" Naruto glanced back over his shoulder at Sakura, who was sporting a genuine face of deep concern and fear. "That's the point," he chuckled quietly, "No family, no friends… I've lost all ambition. I've lost you, and without you I have nothing. Sasuke finally broke me. Now all I want is to kill him and this monster."

Sakura was shocked at what she had just heard Naruto say. All this time she had thought that she had been nothing but a burden to him. She had thought that all the things she had done for him had always been so small. She couldn't believe that Naruto would say such a thing to her even after how she had treated him in the past, and how she had always asked so much of him without offering any kind of compensation. Had she been blind this whole time? This entire time that she had sought Sasuke, she had had Naruto right in front of her. She sent a fox to chase a snake.

Without another word Naruto charged the Kyuubi with his massive Rasenshuriken. Sakura pulled herself from her thoughts to catch his advance. Though she screamed his name, it became obvious that nothing would stop him now. He was doing this for himself and only himself. She allowed the man most precious to her to slip away, and he would no longer stop until he was dead.

The Kyuubi chuckled at Naruto's advance. Regardless of how powerful this attack was, it wouldn't be enough to kill him, and if he had heard right, there was a good chance that it would kill Naruto. And there's nothing that the Kyuubi likes more than watching would-be heroes throw their lives away, in fact this time could be even more enjoyable then the Fourth's attempt. As the huge sphere of chakra connected with the Kyuubi, it burst into a monstrous whirlwind of power. Sakura was pulled away by an unknown ANBU member along with Kiba just before they too were pulled into the blast.

As the vicious tornado of chakra began to die, Sakura looked into the dust for a sign of Naruto. As the last remnants of smoke clearly a massive crater lie in place of what was once Konaha square. Sakura looked around and noticed that almost every ninja in the village was circled around the crater. She quickly pulled away from her ANBU savior and sprinted into the crater. Near its center, the Kyuubi lay in a colossal bloody heap and a short distance from it lay Naruto in a pool of his own blood. Sakura rushed to Naruto's side to find that he had no pulse and wasn't breathing. His body had been sliced and burned in the blast but, there was a slight chance that he was in shock and could be saved. Sakura got to work immediately with her medical jutsu as Tsunade closed in on her.

"Sakura… you can stop," Tsunade said in a mournful voice, "I really don't think that there's any way he could have survived that blast. I need you to stay calm and tell me the whole story of what happened here, ok?"

"**I can tell you**," came a low chuckle as the monstrous form next to Naruto's body raised itself once again, "**I'm not done just yet, but I don't mind giving a recap for all of you who showed up late**," the Kyuubi joked.


End file.
